The dictionary definition is easy enough. but this has certainly become a much bigger issue than that and it isn't going away anytime soon.

I'll spare you my long winded rant because there are a lot of aspects to this issue and I'm not prepared to discuss all of them. This is more of a 'puff' sort of rant about the perceived inequities of global institutions competing with local or regional ones.

This has been the spark for endless protests but I've never been able to understand the argument. In my experience, all else being equal, people prefer local institutions because they reflect local biases and are part of the culture and routine of the people in the area. There are also distinct advantages for local owned and operated business not the least of which includes access to local resources, the realestate market etc. I would assume that this is particularly true for restaurants and anything else that involves prepared food, which tends to have distinct local flavor that really doesn't translate from one region to another where regional preferences preclude the success of a single standard that can be succcessful.

So why is it that something like Starbucks can step in and take over? Surely there must be something evil going on. Well there is!... but it's not Starbucks. Too often local business (like local news) is awful.

No one wants to go to Starbucks, especially at first. There is an initial instinctual replusion, a fear of strangers/outsiders/invaders that must be overcome. Locals don't want to go because it isn't a local business, tourists don't want to go because they didn't travel to whatever the destination to have the same experience they could have without leaving home, local media including periodicals that cover cuultural events and offer reviews don't spend a lot of time discussing these types of places for similar reasons and they never win awards (even when they should). In Boston we have Boston Magazine and their annual Best of Boston Awards and you will never see Starbucks win unless they come out with a best global presence award or something similar.

Now there are exceptions... Trendy brands will get coverage because they are hip and their mear presence confers some measure of hipness on the community. For ex. Krispy Kreme has recently open a location near Boston, and accessible via the subway and you would think that it was a home coming with all of the positive press and local enthusiasm. There are other exceptions too but this isn't supposed to be a detailed discussion, just a fluffy rant.

So why then is Starbucks and places like Starbucks successful? Because very oten local business sucks. Very often the success of local business isn't about the quality of the goods and services they provide, good choice or selection of offerings, pleasant environment or any other effort, practice or policy that would stand up to competition. No very often the success of local business is all about there being no other available options. Surprise, surprise success owed to lack of other available options doesn't hold up well to competition. This is about the human propensity toward laziness. This is about doing just barely enough for years and years, getting cuaght off guard by a new challenger and then crying foul.

more later -- battery almost dead.

11:08:49 AM  

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I have a backlog of things to post about. It's so bad that I'll probably never be able to post everything that I want to put here so I have a strategy.

I'm going to create a post queue where I keep incomplete kernels of posts for readers to look through. If you see something that you would like me to post sooner rather than later you'll be able to send me an email with the request and I'll bump that item up the priority list.

This is yet another robreed.net weblogging innovation. If you see this somewhere else remember that you saw it here first (what else do I have?).

It might take me a few days to get this going. The post queue will be seperate from the normal space where I post. Don't worry about having to wade through a bunch of garbage if you don't want to.

What do you think of the post queue idea? It's hard to believe that you could hire me to help you create a weblog. My super brain could be working for you!

10:16:58 AM  

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I'm at the Starbucks at Haymarket.

I've said before that this is my favorite Starbucks because it's big (for a city Starbucks), near the North End, there's lots of seating, and there seems to be less drama hear than at most of the other Starbucks in the area (the School St. location near the State T stop is the king Starbucks of drama I think).

Anyway, there is an odd dynamic seeping in here at the Haymarket Starbucks. There is a girl here who has started some sort of a digital media services company part time. Apparently she does things like restore old photos to digital, create digital movies from home movies, put together cds etc.

Now why do I know all of this? I have no idea. Is it really appropriate for her to be selling her services while she's working at Starbucks? Worse then that, today there are business cards at the register. And I often hear her saying this like, 'Yeah, I've started doing this because I hate Starbucks. This place is awful. I hate working here and need to get out.' (that's me paraphrasing).

I have to believe that all of this isn't going unnoticed by the other employees, and I'm pretty sure I can feel a negative vibe starting to build up.


9:53:27 AM  

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I feel like a big boy today.

Jenn gave me $20.00. It's been months since I've had more than a couple of bucks. She made me promise to keep it in my pocket, not tell anyone and only talk to nice people.

I'm supposed to buy food with it but I think I might buy Yu-Gi-Oh and Kaiba action figures instead. They're really cool and I could battle with 'em and stuff. That would be neat. I could have the ultimate battle and I would be able to pick who wins... that's awesome.

Look at this great review I found on Amazon.com

"This is exciting.I love playing it.It kinda makes your mood be better if you fell bad."

This kid sounds cool and not messed up at all. Yep, no issues here. Let's just say that I hope they keep making new Yu-Gi-Oh toys forever to keep this kid happy otherwise we may have a real problem on our hands.

9:39:35 AM  

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Have you seen that Worship Together commercial for the Time Life Christian music compilation cds?

If I didn't have a girlfriend I would love to have sex with one of the girls they show in the audience while the Christian music was playing in the background.

Is that wrong of me?.

12:09:01 AM  

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I helped Heather with something for school tonight (and yesterday and the day before). It was very nice of me.

12:04:53 AM  

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No matter how bad life seems and regardless of how desperate the situation might get, Classics is never the answer!

Send me an email and I'll add you to my mailing list so that you'll be notified about my efforts to rid our public colleges and universities of Classics as a major.

12:00:53 AM  

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